Lighthouse Canton, a Singapore-headquartered global wealth and asset management investment institution, and NH Absolute Return Partners (NHARP), a Singapore-based asset management company of one of Korea’s largest securities firms, NH Investment & Securities, have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to co-invest in the Indian private debt space.

Under the terms of the Memorandum of Understanding, Lighthouse Canton and NHARP will co-invest up to US$20m in promising Indian companies. The pair will also explore opportunities for greater collaboration across the Indian private markets space.

For Lighthouse Canton, which has offices in Singapore, Dubai, New Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Bengaluru, India is a core investment market, and the firm manages India and South-East Asia focused funds on various private market strategies including commercial real estate, venture equity and venture debt. NH has been actively investing in the region in sectors which are of strategic interest and hopes to leverage the resources of its parent company, NH Investment & Securities, and the infrastructure of the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation Financial Group to explore further opportunities across India and Southeast Asia.

“India’s economy is at an inflection point, supported by favourable demographics, development-oriented policies, and infrastructural growth. India’s mid-market ecosystem is poised to benefit from the overall growth as India marches towards becoming the third-largest economy over the next 3-4 years,” said Sanket Sinha, Director on the Board of Lighthouse Canton and head of its Asset Management business. “We are excited to join hands with NH Group, one of the leading institutions in Korea, to support the growth of companies operating in small finance, fintech, B2B commerce, and agricultural finance, among others, in India and South-East Asia. NH’s experience in these areas will be an asset for the companies we collectively invest in.”

Kijung Kwon, Managing Director and CIO of NH Absolute Return Partners stated, “From an investors’ perspective, India is a vibrant market with significant exit opportunities across various sectors such as financial service, consumer, B2B SaaS. In 2023, approximately $30 billion is realized through about 250 exit transactions in PE and VC market, including IPOs and M&As. Furthermore, we plan to set our focal points more closely on identifying investment opportunities and achieving exits in India’s promising companies.

Hongwook Warren Kim, CEO of NH Investment & Securities’ Global Business Division, added: “India is a key market where not only the venture ecosystem but also the entire capital market is developing dynamically due to high growth. The signing of this MoU serves as an opportunity to better understand the Indian market for us. From now on, as one of Korea’s leading capital market players, we plan to create synergies in collaboration with Lighthouse Canton.